Hi
My daughter is doing photography next year at GCSE. she's just been sent home from school for however long so looking for things to keep her occupied in the next few months.
My wife did a degree in it, so we had a decent kit, and she still has old Nikon and Nikkor lenses. We sold all of the cameras when phones improved so much. Looking at Ebay there appear to be some old D100, or D1 Nikons around for not much money as well as a dizzying array of other stuff. So question is
1. How do old Nikons hold up second hand?
2. Is there a sweet spot for quality/value?
3. Is it just not worth it because my new phone does 48mp and trickery and thats a better way to go.
Any advice or opinions most welcome
Thanks
Dunno about Nikon, but on point 3 I highly down a phone camera is going to cut the mustard on a photography course.
I’m no expert but did pick up an old Nikon D80 off EBay which was my first foray into DSLR.
Had low shutter count and has been great for my purposes. Many if not all of your lenses will fit Nikon DSLR I think, albeit without certain functions.
EDIT: Probably as important to get hold of and learn how to use editing software. On which I’ve failed.
I think d3100 might be he sweet spot for price/age/features. Big jump in low light ability from d40 series. Lightweight for a dslr. £50-100 on ebay.
I have got 2X Nikon DSLRs, a D40X and a D60, they are excellent for 'learning' the basics of photography such as aperture priority and shutter priority. You can pick up these for minimal cost nowadays and might be a good place to start.
Also as mentioned, sounds like you've got older lenses that could work, worth checking then might be worth looking at prices for pre owned from retailers such as Wex or London Camera Exchange for an older gen Nikon dslr model, depends on your budget and bear in mind the camera will be taken out and about so not something to be too precious about.
Have a look at London camera exchange, at least the cameras should have been tested
Yep, at least with Wex/LCE you will get a shutter count and grading in terms of condition and possibly some sort of protection if things fail.
Also check out Ken Rockwell for help in determining between the dizzying array of old Nikon DSLR models...
https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/index.htm
the other shop for second hand is Camera Jungle
https://www.camerajungle.co.uk/cameras/digital-slr-cameras/nikon
I'm not an expert, but I would have said stick to something 2010-onwards. Mine is a 2010 Canon 60D and still holds it's own.
As @midlifecrashes says, the D3100 would be a good bet, or at more money, the D5100 and even more D7000
All absolutely superb cameras which will take a better photo than any current phone and will be a good way to learn all the basics.
It's hard to imagine learning photography on a phone when they just don't allow the control.
A copy of Adobe Lightroom would be my first addition.
That said, the real money is in the lenses and accessories (as soon as you start looking at flashes, etc).
Maybe worth a call to the GCSE school department and have a chat.
Really helpful thanks!
Depending on your budget I would be looking at something like a D80/90 as a bare minimum.
On the lower end Nikon cameras, check the functions that they are compatible with. I don't know if she'll need it or not, but the Nikon D80/90 & higher up will work with the cheap & useful Nikon infrared remote - I know some of the more basic ones wouldn't work with it.
Equally, if she's likely to be doing flash photography, check if the camera can be used as a commander for the Nikon CLS flashes. Again, when I was looking for a camera the D80 could act as a master for the flashes if being used remote, while the more basic one of it's day (perhaps the D3100) couldn't be used as a master.
Also - the smaller ones tended to have less buttons & more things controlled via menus on the screen. Personally, I prefer the larger camera bodies that have almost all functions covered by buttons & the two jog dials.
If you can stretch to the D7000 it is a massive step-up in image quality/low light performance compared to the D80/90.
Just wee comment from me, its never about the camera, always the photographer.
Well, most of the time...
I will say its never been about megapixels, but about size of the sensor and a good quality lens.
most of what folks suggest up there will be fine, main offerings from Nikon/canon etc will all be good.
If you wish a little more reassurance, you can buy second hand from a dealer (e.g. FFordes of Beauly)
100% there about the photographer... when I did my A level photogrpahy it was Pentax K1000 as only choice! And of course you all know that means learning how to load, unload film onto spiral and develop as part of darkroom practice alongside image making criteria, photographic/art history contexts and developing your creative thinking on how to answer briefs with image making...
The advice on checking GCSE coursework/exam criteria is spot on...
I've a D70, a perfectly good camera in its day as are most Nikons. Buying S/H check the activation count and the state of the monitor screen.
From memory virtually all Nikkor lenses will fit any Nikon body, I think there's a few fisheyes that don't. Obviously with the old manual lenses you don't get autofocus but they'll still work.
Ken Rockwell - let's just say he's opinionated! He does seem to wind quite a few "serious" amateurs up 😉
Ken Rockwell is divisive. I'll leave it at that 😉
I'll second that a D7000 is miles better than a D80. I upgraded when my D80 body developed some terminal illness and was stunned with the difference - my memory is that there was a big firmware improvement.
Have always bought kit second hand through London Camera Exchange as the descriptions are spot on - my D7000 looked brand new when I picked it up, half the cables were still sealed in their original packaging.
Way more interesting to play with than a phone, and better than film where I ruined so many reels trying things that didn't work.
Agree with the above comment about the kit not really being important but I would say that the quality of the lenses is. Especially in low light. All the DSLRs will have all of the key functions she will need. I would consider going for an older body if you have older pro lenses. Obviously the newer lenses have a lot of features that the body uses but I know the D1/D1x you mentioned was fine with the older manual lenses. If you do go for an older body check it has a charger and that you can get the batteries...which won't last long.
Also the older cameras RAW photos can be read by the cheaper editing software (e.g. RawTherapee) the newer the camera the more expenses the editing software due to licensing.
Ffordes.com also good. This D5100 looks good to me:
I've bought from Ffordes before and if they say "as new" then it really is.
Not seen it mentioned yet, but mpb is a good place to price a camera that you know will work when it arrives, have used them a few times and they also give reasonable prices for secondhand kit.
I'd also state that as good as a phone camera is it isn't the same as a decent slr, or even decent camera, I recently bought a Fujifilm X100F, fixed focal length, retro looks and such a lovely thing to use, photos are miles better than my camera phone (with it's 3 cameras/lenses built in).
Is it just not worth it because my new phone does 48mp and trickery and thats a better way to go.
No, because a DSLR is optically and mechanically different and offers you a load of options that every photographer needs to learn about and you will have to do things you simply cannot do on a phone.
Which Nikon lenses do you have ? AF or not ?
D90 minimum from the Dxx range
D300 for something with massive compatability
D700 for back to film lens range
here for real info about Nikon digital - http://www.bythom.com/
The lenses you have are the key
Another option is Nikon lenses on mirrorless body via adaptor Fuji is the absolute best for this option X-E1 as a starter .
I've always been Nikon.
Had a D40, D40x, D90, D7100 which I still have.
All have been used for some amazing shots.
I did a photography course at college too which I imagine might have similar elements. A phone is not what you want.
Framing a picture through a viewfinder is so different from holding a screen out in front of you. It blocks out visual noise and makes you consider the shot more imho.
Your old lenses won't work on some newer cheap bodies
Early AF lenses had the focus motor in the body. Newer lenses are afs and have the focus motor in the lens. D3xxx and D5xxx will not focus older screw driver lenses
If you have manual focus lenses of the AIS type you need a better body to have this tab to allow you to use the cameras exposure meter. I'll post a link for a full list of what does what. But I'd ask again in dpreview nikon lens forum, listing the lenses you have
Don't buy a D100. They were flawed. I'd go for a D200 at least or a D300. These have Af motors and a coupling for ais lenses.
The D200 will take perfectly good pictures but the 10MP ccd sensor was never that great
The D300 is the start of better sensors and low light gains since have been quite small.
A D90 gets the D300 sensor and an AF motor but no exposure meter with manual focus lenses
Next up is the D7000. After that the sesnsors really level off. The big change here is the base iso 100 meaning more dynamic range
For reference my main camera is a D90. It takes great shots. Online I know loads of people who earnt a living with D300. They will have paid £1300 for them. You buy one for a tenth of this
If you want to go really cheap a D70s it has An Af motor. Mine took many great shots
https://www.nikonians.org/reviews/nikon-slr-camera-and-lens-compatibility
A manual compact might suit 😉
https://singletrackmag.com/classifieds/advert/lumix-lx3-wide-angle/
Was about to say that old lenses may not work on newer bodeis.
I had a Nikon D70 and it was excellent, had a hankering for a Canon 5D mk1 full frame loveliness a while back.
*checks prices on LCE*
:O £200 for a body and £400 for a 24-105 L lense... Must resist, already have expensive hobbies!!!
Some brilliant advice here thanks. Just realised that she has nearly 6 months til September so I need to occupy her somehow!
Thanks all
D90 user here. My first dslr after years of obstinate film camera use and I love it. Got it from MPB with a low shutter count (<10000). Proper solid, well made, robust beastie. It’s been dropped (repeatedly), fallen on, frozen at -15, baked in the +40 Californian heat and sweated on in numerous rain forests. Battery lasts forever and there’s enough features to keep me busy. I keep thinking of replacing it, but then I think “with what?”, it’s perfect for me.
As a teacher of GCSE Photography, a decent phone camera is more than good enough at this level. A DSLR will allow better understanding and control of exposure and focus/DoF, but the GCSE course is most definitely not a technical qualification.
As colournoise said, my wife does the same job and has had students get A passes using a half decent mobile and photoshop elements or an IPad. I picked up a low count Nikon D5000 for £75 on Facebook marketplace and for me it was a good starting point, as for older lens check compatibility camera and lens as they are not always compatible.
Also have a good look at the lens you have first as they could be full of dust and fungus so useless.
Good luck
A D90 gets the D300 sensor and an AF motor but no exposure meter with manual focus lenses
D80 also has the autofocus motor built into the body. I knew there was another reason I went for that one, over the cheaper Nikon at the time (D3100?)
